tion Seal, Sea Lion, or Sea Otter? tters tters Photo: Bill Bouton Photo: Mike Baird O
– have short front flippers, dark
Harbor Seals Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
ea or white spots on their fur, and lack external ear flaps. Males and females up to six feet in length. S National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra Atmospheric National Oceanic and Photo: Steve Lonhart Photo: Phil Adams Photo: Phil
Elephant Seals – have short front flippers, tan
ions, and ions, or dark brown fur, and lack external ear flaps. Males up to 13 feet in length, and females up to 10 feet. L Monterey Bay ea National Marine Sanctuary S Designated in 1992, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is one of the largest federal marine protected areas in the National Marine Sanctuary
Photo: Mike Baird Photo: Megan Gong System for its biological richness and cultural
of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary National Bay Monterey of significance. The sanctuary encompasses 6,094 eals, – have long front flippers, tan or dark Sea Lions square statute miles (4,601 square nautical miles) of
S brown fur, and have external ear flaps. Males up to ocean and a shoreline length of 276 miles. eight feet in length, and females up to six feet. Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary The sanctuary contains diverse marine ecosystems, 99 Pacific Street, Building 455 including deep underwater canyons, a seamount, Monterey, CA 93940 rugged rocky shores, extensive kelp forests, wave- Web: montereybay.noaa.gov swept sandy beaches, and tranquil estuaries. Known as the “Serengeti of the Sea,” the sanctuary harbors Email: [email protected] an incredible variety of marine life, including at least Photo: Steve Lonhart Telephone: (831) 647-4201 Photo: Steve Lonhart 36 species of marine mammals, 525 species of fishes, 180 species of seabirds and shorebirds, and Photo: Melissa Anne Thomas Anne Photo: Melissa Sea Otters – have front paws, tan and dark an abundance of invertebrates and algae. brown dense fur, and usually seen floating on their backs. Males and females up to four feet in length. montereybay.noaa.gov Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary National Bay Monterey montereybay.noaa.gov natural behavior. Enjoywatchinginaresponsibleway: and statelawtodisturbthemorcauseachangeintheir All marinemammalsareprotected.Itisagainstfederal local lawsand ordinances onairspacerestrictions. Federal Aviation Administration regulationsaswell and commercialdroneoperators mustcomplywithall airspace thatcauseswildlifedisturbance. Recreational V iewing the sanctuarywithoutapermit, andfromany below 1,000feetinfourrestricted zonesin aircraft systemsareprohibited inairspace Know dronelaws. sick orinjuredwildlifetolocalauthorities. while feedingatsea.Reportanysuspected often restonbeachesorleavepupsalone appear abandonedmaynotbe,asseals Report sickwildlife. directly frombehind. approach themheadon,or Never surround,traporseparateanimals, Never chaseorharasswildlife. their feeding,resting,breeding,ornursing. shore maythreatentheirpupsandinterrupt to diveorsealsfleeintothewaterfrom Keep yourdistance. habituation topeople. by causinginjury,sickness,death,and attract orfeedingwildlifemayharmanimals Do notfeedwildlife. species. Nevertouchorpickupwildlife. risk, andmaybeillegalformostprotected wildlife, caninjuretheanimal,putyouat Hands off. Wildlife caninjureorspreaddiseasetopets. cause mothersandpupstogetseparated. chase, harm,anddisturbwildlife,ormay Keep petsonleash. G uidelines Attempting to,ortouching All unmanned Causing otters Animals that Dogs can Attempting to
N They gatheringroupsalong waters, estuaries,orbays. occupying shallowocean can beseenyear-round, Quiet andshy,harborseals (Phoca vitulinarichardii) P beaches at Año NuevoState Park andPiedras Blancas. made aremarkable populationcomeback. They canbeseenon in thelate1800s, todayelephantsealsareprotected andhave to swimanddiveontheirown. Oncehuntedtonearextinction the nexttwomonths,weaned pupsremainonbeacheslearning one ormoreofthedominantmales beforereturningtosea.For give birthtoapupandnurse for about28days,thenmatewith territory andaccesstofemales. Oncethefemalesarrive,they male elephantsealscometo shore tobattleeachotherfor Beginning inDecember, on sharks,fishes,andsquid. than 5,000feet,theyfeed Diving toadepthofmore breed, pup,molt,orrest. beaches andislandsto seals cometosheltered feeding outatsea,elephant Spending mostoftheyear (Mirounga angustirostris) years andmalesfor25years. returning latertonurse.Onaverage,femalescanlivefor35 often leavetheirpupaloneonthebeachwhilefeedingoffshore, protected beachestogivebirthonepupeachyear.Mothers squid. InthespringfromMarchtoMay,femalesgatheron Being fastswimmers,theycanhuntfishes,octopuses,and along theshorelineorfollowkayakersdiversinwater. rings. Oftencurious,harborsealswillwatchpeoplewalking individual hasauniquepatternofdarkspotsorscatteredwhite plump sealshavespottedsilver-graytoblackcoats,andeach molt, andrest.Thesesmall, spits, wheretheybreed, on beaches,rocks,and sheltered shorelineareas, acific orthern H arbor
E lephant S eal S eal
Photo: Denise Kocek Photo: Marge Brigadier C S cause the animalstohave life-threatening seizures. malnutrition, and diseasefromharmfulalgal bloomsthatcan are susceptible toentanglementinfishinggear anddebris, on topoftheirskullcalledasagittal crest.Californiasealions than ayear. Byfiveyearsofage,males developabonybump or July. Mothers nursetheirpupforatleastsixmonthstomore from SantaBarbaratoMexico, andmostpupsareborninJune and squid.Californiasealions breedmainlyonoffshore islands be seenleapingoutofthewater. They huntoffshore forfishes agile swimmers,andcan rafts atsea.Sealionsare on landorfloattogetherin closely packedtogether animals, largegroupsrest under wharves.Very social rocks, jetties,docks,or sea lionsarefoundon Playful withaloudbark, (Zalophus californianus) (Enhydra lutrisnereis) has grownslowlyovertheyearstoanestimated3,000animals. were discoveredoff BigSurin1938. The Californiapopulation once thoughttobeextinctuntilagroupofabout50individuals otters, huntedfortheirlushpeltsinthe1700sand1800s,were stay withtheirmothersforsixmonthsormore.Southernsea born year-round,peakingbetweenJanuaryandMarch, form groupsofadozenormore,calledrafts.Singlepupsare rest bywrappinginkelptokeepfromdriftingaway, andcan thick furwaterproof,theyspendhoursadaygrooming.Otters percent oftheirbodyweightaday. To staywarmandkeeptheir quickly andeatupto25 blubber, theyburncalories the shellsofprey. Lacking small rockstocrackopen and octopuses,oftenusing on crabs,urchins,clams, kelp forests,seaottersfeed bays, estuaries,ornear Usually foundinshallow outhern alifornia
S
S ea ea O L tter ion
Photo: Cat Harper Photo: Mike Baird Help Protect Wildlife Report Sick or Injured Animals San LuisObispoCounty:(805)771-8300 Monterey orSantaCruzCounties:(831)633-6298 San FranciscoBay Area: (415)289-7325 The MarineMammalCenter Report Disturbances Animal CalTIP Hotline: NOAA EnforcementHotline: montereybay.noaa.gov the coast.Formore information,visit: sanctuary andhelppreventwildlife disturbancesalong naturalists whoeducateother kayakersaboutthe viewing. Team OCEANvolunteersareon-the-water seen fromshore,andpromote respectfulwildlife educate thepublicaboutsanctuary, local wildlife shoreline naturaliststo Net volunteersserveas or Team OCEAN!Bay a volunteerforBayNet disturbance? Become helping preventwildlife Are youpassionateabout (888)334-CalTIP (888-334-2258)
(800) 853-1964
Image courtesy of the Art and Design Department at California Polytechnic State University
Photo: Amity Wood
Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration